Thermostatic fire alarm



June 16, 1936. H. WAINMAN ET AL I THERMOS'IATIC FIRE ALARM.

Filed Dec. 18, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 wlmessas INVENT ffiu?% ORS W ATTORNEYS June 16, 1936.

F. H. WAINMANET AL THERMOSTATIC FIRE ALARM Filed Dec. 18, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 if ll WITNESSES Zia; /w yw QT izz/2K BY 77140144 I ATTORNEYS Patented June 16, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE THERMOSTATIC FIRE ALARM Application December 18, 1934, Serial No. 38,100

10 Claims. (01. 116 -102) This invention relates to alarms and alarm systems, and particularly to a thermostatic alarm, an objectbeing to providea construction wherein an alarm will be set off in case of a sudden rise in temperature.

Another object of the invention is to provide a thermostatic alarm device which utilizes a plurality of thermostats, some of which are protected and some unprotected, with suitable connections whereby a gradual rise in temperature will affect most of the thermostats alike, while a sudden rise in temperature will cause one thermostat to function appreciably ahead of the others and thereby set off an alarm connected with the mechanism associated with the thermostats.

An additional object, more specifically, is to provide a thermostatic alarm device having a protected and an exposed thermostat, andmeans adapted to be set to cause the thermostats to release an alarm when the temperature reaches a certain point adjacent the device and in addition to release the alarm mechanism when the temperature adjacent the device has risen quickly to a certain point. r

In the accompanying drawings- Figure l is a sectional view through Fig. 4 on the line l-I, the same being in effect a bottom plan view of a thermostatic fire alarm embodying the invention, with part of the casing and bell removed;

Fig. 2 is-a view similar to Fig. 1 but showing the parts in the position when the alarm is being sounded; V

Fig. 3 is a'sectional view through Fig. 4, approximately on the line 3-3; I

Fig. 4 is asectional view through Fig 3 approximately on the, line 4-4, the same being a vertical sectional view;

Fig. 4a is a detail fragmentary top plan of the dial plate shown in Fig. 4.

Referring to the accompanying drawings by numerals, l indicates a base plate of any desired view kind which is secured to the ring 2 in any desired manner; as, for instance, by screws 3. The

ring 2 is preferably of angle iron formation and to this ring is secured in any desired manner a Wire mesh housing 4 having a reinforcing angle iron ring 5 at the bottom. The members just described form a protecting frame for the device and may, therefore, be varied to suit circumstances without departing from the invention. I'heplate I, in addition to forming part of the housing, acts as a support for all the 'moving parts, as shown in Fig.4. It is desired either to have all the moving parts exposed or covered only with a wire mesh, so that a change in temperature may instantly affect thedevice and cause the same to function as desired. Any

suitable number of posts 6 are provided and connected with the base plate I, said posts supporting plates 1 and. 8 and the other parts form ing the device. Mounted on these plates is an alarm mechanism 9, which is provided with a suitable hammer'lll for striking a hell I I. The alarm mechanism is driven by a suitable spring I2 through any desired form of train of gears and release. In addition, the alarm mechanism rotates a shaft l3carrying a code or contacting wheel I4, adapted to be engaged by a suitable make-and-break I5, which preferably consists of two spring members l6 and I1 and suitable contacts I8. As the codeor contacting wheel I4 rotates, contacts l8 are moved apart'and then by their resiliency'the members I6 and I! are brought together. This makes and breaks the circuit of bell I9 which may be positioned, at a distant point.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, there is provided a closed circuit I6 connecting members I6 and I'I, said closed circuit including a magnet I8 which forms part of a relay. The lever I'I is connected to an auxiliary circuit H" which includes the bell I9. Whenever the contacts I8 are moved apart the closed circuit l6 willbe opened and, consequently, spring I8" will pull the lever IT to close the circuit II", where- 'upon bell I9 will function until the contacts I8 close and magnet I8 functions to pull lever I1 back to the position shown in Fig. 3. As the contacts I8 are moved together and apart, the

. circuit will be opened and closed and the bell I9 will be sounded in regular order as the circuits are opened and closed. It will be evident that,

if desired, a number of bells l9 and associated parts may be connected with the members l6 and I1, and the reverse is true, as a number of the alarm devices as shown in Fig. 3 could be connected to a single bell 19, which single bell might be arranged at a watchmans booth, or other desired place. When a fire occurs at any one of the alarm devices, the bell I9 will ring. In order that the watchman or other person interested may know where the fire is located, the. code wheel I! is provided with one or more interrupted places I4. The length of these interrupted places, or the number thereof, may be used as a signal to determine which alarm device is functioning. As illustrated in Figs; 3

,and 4, it will be evident that when the bell II is sounding, the bell |9 also is functioning. It is evident that any desired number of bells may be mounted in the circuit of the bell l9, so that they may all function at the same time. The spring I2 is adapted to be wound by a key placed on the shaft 20 and when wound acts as a power means for actuating the train of gears 2|, which, in turn, causes the hammer I6 to function and also the shaft l3 to function. The hammer H] and associated'parts are normally prevented fro-m functioning by a swinging stopping lever 22 pivotally mounted at 23 (Fig. 1), said lever having an extension 24 which is moved into the path of movement of the hammer l0 and thereby prevents said hammer from being actuated. When pin moves to the left from the position shown in Fig. 1, lever 22 will be swung and extension 24 will move away from hammer l6 and said hammer will then be free to function as indicated in Fig. 2. As soon as the lever 22 is moved back to the position shown in Fig. 1, the hammer in I is prevented from functioning.

In order to cause the hammer H] to function and also to open or close the circuit of bell l9,

there is provided a suitable thermostatic conposed to a sudden rise in temperature whereby it will begin to function immediately while the functioning of thermostat 25 will be retarded. Where the temperature surrounding the device rises slowly, both thermostats will move at the same speed or substantially the same speed, and the device will not release the alarm mechanism unlessthe heat reaches a certain set point, as, for "instance, F. In order to get these results, a shaft 28 is rigidly secured to the central part of the coiled metal member forming the thermostat 26, while the outer end of the coiled member is secured to a stationary support in any desired manner, as, for instance, to the post 29 as shown in Figure 3. A lever 36 is rigidly secured to the outer end of shaft 28 and, consequently, swings back and forth as the shaft moves in one or the other direction. As illustrated particularly in Fig. 4, the thermostat 26 is connected with shaft 28 and this shaft extends through the plate I so that the pointer 28' may be connected therewith. The pointer 28 is adapted to move over a disk or face plate 28" on which graduations 8 are positioned indicating degrees of temperature. By this construction the device may be used as a thermometer for indicating rise and fall in temperature without in any way hindering the use of the entire structure as an alarm device. 7

The thermostat 25 is made of a coiled strip of thermostatic material with one end affixed to the stationary support and the inner end connected to a tubular shaft 3|, said tubular shaft extending through the metal casing 21 and formed integral with or rigidly secured to an'arm 32. The arm 32 has a rear extension 33 which is adapted to strike the stop or abutment 3'4 when 135 F. has been reached, or any other temperature which is set as a limit for the device. Usually, however, the extension does not reach the stop 34. The lever 36, as shown in Fig. 2, is

provided with a recess 35 for accommodating a pin 36 carried by a bell crank lever 31, said bell crank lever being pivotally mounted at 38 on lever 30. A pin 39' is carried by lever 36, and a second pin 39 is carried by the bell crank lever 31 so as to accommodate the contractile spring 40, which quickly moves the parts to the position shown in Fig. 2 when that part of lever 3|] in which the recess 35 is located has moved (in the direction indicated by the arrow 36' in Fig. 1) away from lever 32 a certain distance.

It will be noted that the long arm 4| of the bell crank lever 31 is provided with a slot 42 through which a pin '43 extends, which is adapted to be adjusted along the slot so as to vary the leverage between the bell crank lever 31 and the link 44,

I which is pivotally mounted on a pin 45, which pin extends through the link 44, lever 22 and the sliding bar 46. Link 44 and lever 22 are entirely separate members but both are pivotally mounted on pin 45. A slot 41 is formed in the bar 46, said slot accommodating the stationary post 48 extending loosely in the slot. A handle or knob 49 is connected to the outer end of the bar 46 so that the bar may be forced from the position shown in Fig. 2 inwardly to the position shown in Fig. 1 whenever necessary or, if desired, may be pulled from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 2.

When the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1, the pin 45 is preferably directly under shaft 28. 'In regard to the pin 43, it will be noted that the link 44 is loosely pivotally mounted thereon, but this pin is clamped by nuts 50 and 5| rigidly to the long arm 4| of the bell crank lever 31. When the parts move from the position shown in Fig. 1 to that shown in Fig. 2, the bell crank lever swings over under the action of spring 40 until pin 36 strikes the abutment 52. In respect to arm 32, it will be observed that the same is substantially a straight arm formed of one piece rigid throughout but firmly connected to the tubular shaft 3| which is actuated by the protected thermostat 25. When'the arm 32 moves, as indicated by arrow 32 in Fig. 1, to its extreme position the extension 33 will strike the stop 34 and will not move further, so that if the temperature rises higher even though slightly, it cannot move any further but arm 30 can move further in the same direction, and, consequently, will move the parts eventually to the position shown in Fig. 2. A set of graduations 53 are formed on the casing 21 to indicate when the arm 32 will come to rest, and a slide plate 54 is held by suitable screws 55, said slide plate having a pointer 56 adapted to move over the graduation 53. The pin 34 is carried by this plate and when the plate is positioned as shown in Fig. 2 for instance, the arm 32 will stop by reason of the extension 33 striking the pin 34 when the temperature reaches for instance 135 F. If it should be desired that the arm 32 continue to move until it reaches a higher temperature, plate 54 will be adjusted to cause the pointer 56 to move to the right, as shown in Fig. 2, a certain distance, after which the screws 55 will be tightened to lock the parts against movement. By adjusting the plate 54 back and forth, the arm 32 may be stopped at different points. However, ordinarily the parts are so set that the arm 32 will not stop 'until the temperature reaches a rather dangerous point. The levers 30 and 32 move clockwise as viewed in Fig. 1 when the temperature rises.

In forming the thermostat 25 the same is preferably made strong and will not permit arm 32 to move easily so that when the temperature rises quickly the thermostat 26 wm'movean apprefciable distance but the thermostat 25 will not move appreciably and, consequently,arm -32 will remain substantially stationary. This will result in lever 30 swinging toward the-position shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings even though arm 32 is remainingstationary. It will be noted that the long arm 4| of the bell crank lever 31 is provided with a pin 51 which continually bears against one edge of the arm 32 when the lever 30 is being moved. There is, therefore, a certain tension brought on this point, but the arm 32 resists movement unless actuated by the thermostat 25. The swinging of the lever 30 willmerelyswing the bell crank lever gradually until spring 40 is allowed to function, whereupon the a spring will quickly move the parts so as to shift the lever 22- to release the hammer l0.

After the, parts have been released andmoved to the position shown in Fig. 2, they will remain in that position; untilsome person manually pushes inwardly on the knob 49 and restores-the parts to their former position as shown in Fig. 1. As soon as the hammer l0 begins to function it will cause the bell H to sound and as the escape-' ment mechanism to which hammer I0 is connected functions not only will the-hammer 10 be vibrated but the code wheel *I 4 will be rotated and the circuit of the magnet l8 will be opened and closed. This will cause the opening and closing of the circuit to the bell l9 whereby the bell l9 will sound intermittently. As illustrated particularly in Fig. 3, not only will the bell l9 be sounded, but by reason of the shape of the wheel [4 and the mutilated section I4,.the sounding of the bell will indicate the location of the fire as the shape of the code wheel l4 will cause the bell to sound in a certain way. For instance, if there is only one tooth of the code wheel left out there will be no action of the bell for a certain length of time, but if there are two teeth left out the bell will remain silent for twice that time. By varying the length of the mutilated part l4 different signals. may be given and thereby indicate the positions of a large number of fires.

When a sudden rise in temperature takes place,

' as, for instance, when a fire occurs close to the stance, 135 F., whereupon pin 34 would stop movement of lever 32 while lever 30 would continue swinging if the temperature-continued to rise even slightly. By adjusting the pin 43 along the slot 42, the amount of sudden rise 'in temperature necessary to cause the device to function, may be varied, as, for instance, when the parts are set in one position a sudden rise of ten" degrees, more or less, in temperature "will cause a release of the mechanism, whereas by 'shifting the pin 43 to a different position along the slot '42, it would be necessary to have a sudden rise in temperature of twentyor more degrees. It will; therefore, be seen that the parts may be adjusted to take care of different conditions so that a small quick rise in temperature would setoff the alarm, or a sudden considerable rise in temperature would be needed. In addition to this arrangement, the device is set to function in any event when the rise is beyond a certain point.

r The various levers andother parts have been set to function upon a rise in temperature and particularly a quick rise in temperature, but, if

desired, these parts could be reversed in position and a s'uddendrop in temperature could produce an alarm.

Whenthe device is used for indicating fires, naturally the parts will be arranged as shown in the drawings, but if the device is to be used means actuated by the exposed thermostat against the protected thermostat for moving said member for releasing said mechanism.

2.. A thermostatic alarm device including an alarm member, mechanism for actuating said alarm member, a movable member for stopping said actuating, a protected thermostat, an exposed thermostat, means actuated by the exposed thermostat for releasing said movable member,

and a swinging arm actuated by the protected thermostat for causing the action of the exposed thermostat to vary the time of functioning of said means.

3. A thermostatic fire alarm including an alarm device, a swinging stopping lever for nortioning, and means for moving said stopping lever so thatit will not interfere with the functioning of said alarm device, said means including a protected thermostat, an exposed thermostat, a lever connected to eachof said thermostats so as to be swung thereby, means carried by the lever connected to the exposed thermostat resting against the lever carried by the protected thermostat so that the position of the lever carried by the protected thermostat will determine the time when the lever'carried by the exposed thermostat may function to swing independently of'the lever carried by the protected thermostat, and a link connecting the last-mentioned means with said swinging stopping lever, said link being actuated by said last mentioned means to'cause said swinging stopping lever to move to a position whereby the swinging stopping lever will not interfere with the functioning of said alarm device.

4. A thermostatically controlled fire alarm system including an alarm member, mechanism for causing said member to function, means for normally preventing said mechanism from functioning, said means including a swinging lever and thermostatically actuated means'for moving said lever torelease said mechanism, said thermostatically actuated means including a link connected to said lever, a bell crank lever for actuating said link, a thermostatically actuated lever pivotally connected to one leg of said bell crank lever, a spring for swinging said bell crank lever and link to cause the'first-mentionedlever to function, and 'a second thermostatically con- 40 'mally preventing the alarm device from functrolled lever acting as an abutment for said bell crank lever whereby the relative position of the second thermostatically controlled lever determines when the first thermostatically controlled lever shall function to cause a release of said mechanism.

5. A thermostatically controlled fire alarm syst-em including a swinging member for normally holding the fire alarm system against operation, a link for swinging said member in one direc tion, a bell crank lever for moving said link, an exposed thermostat, an arm connected'to'said exposed thermostat so as to be actuated thereby, means for pivoting one leg of said bell crank lever on said arm, a protected thermostat, an arm connected to said protected thermostat so as to .be actuated thereby, a pin extending from said bell crank lever normally resting against the last mentioned arm, and a spring for quickly swinging said bell crank lever and said link to a position for causing therelease of said fire alarm system when the arm connected with the exposed thermostat moves faster than the arm connectedto the protected thermostat.

6. A thermostatically controlled fire alarm system including a fire alarm structure having a hammer, a lever having one end adapted to be swung to a position against the hammer so as to hold the hammer against functioning, a link pivotallyconnected with one end of said lever so as to swing the lever into and out of functioning position, a bell cranklever, means for pivotally connecting said link to one leg of said bell crank lever, an exposed thermostat, a lever connected to said exposed thermostat and movable thereby, means pivotally connecting the other leg of said bell crank lever to said thermostatically controlled lever near one end thereof, said thermostatically controlled lever having at the free end a pair of stops slightly more than forty-five degrees apart, a pin carried by said bell crank lever and adapted to rest against one of said stops when in one position and against the other stop when in a second position, a protected thermostat, an arm connected to and actuated by said protected thermostat, a pin acting as a stop extending from the end of said bell crank lever and normally resting against one edge of said arm, a contractile spring connected to the central part of said bell crank lever and to the lever connected with the exposed thermostatfor quickly swinging the bell crank lever for causing an actuation of said link when the lever connected with the exposed thermostat moves a certain distance beyond the arm connected to the protected thermostat.

. 7. A device of the character described, including a bell, means including a hammer for causing the bell to produce a sound, a pivotally mounted stopping lever having one end positioned to hold said hammer against functioning when the lever is in a given position and to move away from the hammer when in a second position, a link connected to the free end of said stopping lever, an exposed thermostat, a protected thermostat, a primary lever connected with the exposed thermostat, a secondary lever connected with the protected thermostat, a bell crank lever having one leg thereof pivotally connected to said primary lever at the outer end of the primary lever, said primary lever having a pair of spaced stops, a pin carried by said bell crank lever and adapted to move from one stop to the other as the bell crank lever moves from one of its extreme positions to the other, means for pivotally connecting said link with the leg of the bell crank lever not connected with said primary lever, a pin extending from the last-mentioned leg of said bell crank lever, said pin normally resting against one edge of the secondary lever, a spring continually acting on said bell crank lever to hold the same in either extreme position or to swing it quickly from one such position to the other for causing said link to'function, said primary and secondary levers moving substantially at a uniform speed in the same direction as the temperature adjacent the device rises and falls slowly while the primary lever moves at a greater rate of speed when the temperature adjacent the device quickly rises, the primary lever at the greater speed acting to swing the bell crank lever for moving said link in a direction to cause the link to swing said pivotally mounted stopping lever to a position whereby said hammer is released.

8. A device of the character described, including a stopping lever for stopping the functioning of an alarm mechanism, a link for moving said lever in one direction a re-setting device for moving the link in the opposite direction, and thermostatically controlled means for moving said link in said one direction, said thermostatically controlled means including a bell crank lever having one end pivotally connected to said link, a spring for swinging said bell crank lever from one position to another, an exposed thermostat, a swinging primary lever actuated by said exposed thermostat, a protected thermostat, a secondary swinging lever actuated by said protected thermostat, said primary lever moving at an appreciably greater speed than the secondary lever upon the occurrence of a sudden rise in temperature, said primary lever when moving at a greater rate of speed than the secondary lever acting to swing said bell crank lever into a position for permitting said spring to cause a further move ment of said bell crank lever whereby said link is moved in a direction for causing said stopping lever to move to a position to permit said alarm mechanism to function.

9. In a deviceof the character described, an exposed thermostat, a protected thermostat having a fixed housing with graduations thereon, a plate having a pointer adapted to be moved over said graduations, means for locking .said plate in different positions, an abutment carried by said plate, a secondary lever connected with said protected thermostat and movable thereby so that mary lever, a pin extending from the other leg 01' said bell crank lever and normally resting against one edge of said secondary lever, said pin acting as a pivotal point for said bell crank lever when said primary lever is swung faster than said secondary lever, whereby the free end of said bell crank lever will be swung over toward the pivotally mounted end of said primary lever, a spring connected with said primary lever and said bell crank lever for causing the bell crank lever to give a quick movement, when the bell crank lever has moved a predetermined distance, a link actuated by said bell crank lever, and control means for an alarm system actuated by said link,

said control means being movable by said link to a position for releasing said alarm mechanism.

10. A device of the character described, including an alarm mechanism, a swinging member for normally locking said alarm mechanism against actuation, and means for moving said swinging member to a position for releasing said alarm mechanism, said means including a pair of there mostats, one being exposed to the surrounding atmosphere and the other protected therefrom, an arm connected with and movable by' each of 

